Apple Announces New Hiking Features Coming To watchOS 10
At Apple’s annual developer conference WWDC, a bunch of new features were announced for the upcoming watchOS 10 to be released in September, 2023.
Hikers will appreciate the latest additions which include new views in the compass app. Currently you can zoom in and out of an overhead view of your breadcrumb route but soon an alternate 3D view will be available. It will feature new dropped pins to show where your last point of cellular connectivity was and where you can make an emergency call.
Trail information has been greatly enhanced to show details of nearby trails, including name, length, time, elevation gain, difficulty, photos, and more. You can also set alerts so your watch will notify you when you pass a particular elevation threshold.
I’m particularly looking forward to the addition of topographic maps (hopefully this includes Canadian maps) which include trails, contour lines, elevation and points of interest which was one of my ‘wish list’ items in my review of the Apple Watch Ultra.
Another wish list item that is coming to iOS 17 is ‘offline maps’. Finally you will be able to view saved areas when you are in the backcountry and don’t have reception. You will be able to use downloaded maps on your Apple Watch to navigate and view detailed place cards when your iPhone is turned on and in range of your Apple Watch.
watchOS 10 requires iPhone XS, iPhone XR or later with iOS 17 and one of the following Apple Watch models:
Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch Series 5
Apple Watch SE
Apple Watch Series 6
Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch Series 8
Apple Watch Ultra
